Share Data Plan

I am currently an unhappy customer with Verizon. I have been with Verizon for almost 3 years prior to that I was an Alltel user for many years. I have done some looking at this Share Data Plan. To the way I understand the plan it is more meant for people who have muiltple devices that have data services vs people like me that have only one device with services.

Currently I have unlimited data but I would like to get a new phone either S3 or Maxx however I was informed I would have to switch to this new data plan. I did some looking and it going to cost more per month for me to switch to this new data plan than what I currently pay per month with unlimited data. I dont agree that I should have to switch because verizon choose this for the...(continues)

Sounds like you know the answers to all your questions. Terms & Conditions can be changed at every renewal but generally not in between. Verizon also agrees that you don't have to change plans, only if you expect them to give you a $650 smartphone for $200. That's the offer, if you don't like it then don't accept it but don't lay out your own terms and expect Verizon to cave in. You want to keep your unlimited data plan? Here's how. Buy your phone at full price and don't renew your contract, or buy it from a 3rd party if you can get it for less. Or wait six months or so when Verizon begins offering it as a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) model for less than a brand new one.

You don't have to trust them, just that they're an option customers have. BTW, you don't get a crap phone with someone else's problems. "Defective" phones go back to the manufacturer for review & refurbishment. When complete it's certified to be in "like new" working condition and sent back to the carrier for use for warranty or for sale as a CPO. Interestingly, some 30 to 50 percent of all "defective" phones are found to have nothing wrong. So what does that say about how customers deal with their carriers?

First off i take care of my phones. Unusually i get a new one every year cause i can. Second there are some things you dont used or refurbished and third i doubt those percentages are correct or accurate. If your comfortable buying something used the good for you. I however am not.

Don't give me the whole "$650 smartphone for $200" line. That's totally false. The average wholesale cost for a smartphone to a carrier is more around $300. Apple being the exception. Apple really is charging carriers $600 wholesale for their phone, which is why a lot of carriers don't sell it. It's also why Apple is worth half a trillion dollars-from ripping off everyone. So when a carrier sells you an Android for $200, they are only losing about $100 right off the bat. Sometimes they are breaking even right off the bat too and making a profit as soon as you walk out the door. If you pay $600 retail for your smartphone, the carrier has made about $300 profit from your right off the bat. These companies know how to market products, ...(continues)

Problem is, I've seen phone costs in the Verizon inventory system. Having a background in inventory control, I know when I'm looking at pretend numbers. I've always maintained that the full retail price is not the actual price Verizon paid for the phone, but it's pretty damn close. Unless you count a 3% gross profit margin as a huge markup (hint - it's not).

Worst of all, having seen what I've seen, if Verizon is making up the numbers in the inventory system they have complete idiots in the inventory department, as they would have to be insane to inflate their own insurance costs and taxes.

What the french are you even talking about? What are these phone you claim come at a cost of around 300$? The only ones that are near that price are bottom level phones that are only going to give you issues.

It sounds like you want the company to give you a discounted price for not signing a contract which just makes sure they get the money they lose upfront on a device plus a litte more for the service on top.

They are a business so yeah they will charge your 150-250$ more then what they pay for the phones outright and some of that is to recoupe shipping fees they pay. If they didnt then they would go out of business.

Doubt me? Then go ahead and ask the price of any phone verizon sells and i will show you the invoice from the man...(continues)

If carriers get out of the business of selling hardware and allow customers to buy directly from the manufacturers the prices would come down. But your company doesn't want to give that up, do they? They want to fiddle with the hardware and provide technical support and so on so on. However...thanks to the C-block LTE spectrum Verizon acquired they may have a rude awakening. If a phone fits...consumers should be able to activate it. It's going to take a nice little lawsuit to make it happen though.

I don't understand why people keep misunderstanding this, and if reps are explaining it wrong then shame on them.

You do NOT have to switch to Share Everything. The only thing you have to change is your data feature. You will have to give up the unlimited data but you can switch to the $30/2GB data package and leave everything else on your plan the same. It's the same price, other than the .01 difference from the $29.99 to the $30 data plan. All current customers can keep their existing share plans or single line plans and can even continue to add $9.99 lines to their existing share plans.

I did the calculating and even talked to reps it cost more to switch to the share data than keeping the unlimited data unless you have more than one device. I hit 2 + gb in data i dont agree i should have to give up my unlimited data...they should grandfather people in that have the unlimited data...they have done this before in the past.

When Verizon stops paying for half to two thirds of your phone, I'm sure you'll be able to dictate what is grandfathered and what is not. Actually, that's the case now, since you don't have to drop the unlimited feature when you buy the phone all on your own and without the carrier's subsidy.

As vzwinagent said, you don't have to switch to the new plan, you only have to switch off of the unlimited date feature. Aside from the penny more they charge, its the same price. I get that its the principal of it all, but again, since they are paying for the bulk of your phone, they get to dictate the terms.

As a non-biased observer (non VZ supporter or hater), I will give my objective view on the situation with grandfathered unlimited data and upgrades:

We all know that it is a very bad policy and very anti-consumer that VZ requires a person to be on a limited data plan to receive the phone subsidy. Grandfathered data plans should count too. I do not want to hear "well vz does not have to subsidy your device..."Technically vz does not have to, but it is standard practice for allowing grandfathered plans/data features to upgrade to receive discounted phone. The way the industry is set up in the US, this is an expectation on a postpaid contract plan.

For a customer to expect this is not far-fetched at all.. VZ is going against the norm ...(continues)

I will readily admit that I am an employee - I make no secret of it. I also make no secret that I am far from the typical brainwashed employee, and anyone who's spent much time reading my posts over the past either years I've been on here knows that as well. Its been evident in my posts, and evident on my own web site, phonecan.com. I don't like the subsidy system, and don't want it. Period. It gives consumers no choice, and reserves that right to the service provider. I make no qualms about stating that you don't get much choice under the current system.

As for grandfathering, it is simply a tool for good PR and to jeep customers happy for a time. But this is far from the first time Verizon or any other company has changed their mind ...(continues)

I don't believe Verizon will EVER go back to schmoozing the customer.. Those days are OVER. The irony of all this is that Apple is primarily to blame for much of this change. Once the iphone came to Verizon they really had to clean up their act. No more 30 Day return policy. No more NE2. No more unlimited data plans... When Apple ALLOWS a carrier to sell its phone that carrier has to get its act together or else. So...how long before Sprint ends unlimited data? I know, I know. They run those cute commercials about 'not limiting the iphone'. Verizon crowed about unlimited data until they decided to end it, too. We clamored for the iphone. Be careful what you wish for.

...the Share Data Plan is to make the lives of people with multiple devices with data services easier and cheaper..."

No, it's not. The primary purpose of the Shared Data Plan is to make Verizon more money. "With the construct that we have dealt with around data share and where we see consumption of LTE going, when you put the combination of them together, we are fairly confident that we will see people start to uptake in the tiers, which is really where we will get the revenue accretion in the future."---Verizon CFO Fran Shammo. In other words: once consumers switch to Shared Data with LTE handsets they WILL begin to use more data and that data will no longer be unlimited and they will need to adopt higher tiers, thereby increasing Ve...(continues)

I'm having the same issue. My upgrade is December 3 and have to give up my unlimited data plan when I purchased a new phone. So I thinking about leaving VZW when my upgrade comes up. I agree with you. The customer should not give up the unlimited data. Also when you upgrade you have to a pay $30. fee, which is crazy!

Don't let them put you in a contract to get the discount. If more people did it, they'd reconsider the policy. But since the huge majority of people don't want to buy their phone full price, they will willingly sign a contract that gives up certain consumer rights, including unlimited data.

I think you should do it. Keep in mind that your contract end date and your upgrade date are not typically the same date. Generally if one is on a two year contract Verizon 'allows' you to upgrade after twenty months. If your upgrade date is December 3 then your contract end date may be March 3. Sign into My Verizon and check before you port your number out to Sprint. As a last resort, if you are not familiar with My Verizon then you may want to call. Hopefully you can get it from the automated system. I really dislike talking to Verizon reps unless absolutely necessary these days.

Jarahawk said:I think you should do it. Keep in mind that your contract end date and your upgrade date are not typically the same date. Generally if one is on a two year contract Verizon 'allows' you to upgrade after twenty months. If your upgrade date is December 3 then your contract end date may be March 3. Sign into My Verizon and check before you port your number out to Sprint. As a last resort, if you are not familiar with My Verizon then you may want to call. Hopefully you can get it from the automated system. I really dislike talking to Verizon reps unless absolutely necessary these days.

I checked My Verizon and it shows that my contract expires April 3, 2013. So that means I would have to ...(continues)

So your're considering staying, eh? I know how it is. After all...I'M still here. It's complicated. You know? I have a hate/hate relationship with Verizon. I hate their prices and I hate their smug 'we've got the best network so where else can you go attitude'. But...it's a legitimate question. It's sort of like being in a marriage where the other person is so sure that you would never leave them because of all the things they do for you that they take you for granted. Until...one day you get fed up and leave. I'm not to that point yet. I suppose as long as my plan to keep my three Unlimited Data plans works (It will) then I am here for a while. I suspect that you're going to stay, too. It's not a critique. I just get the feeli...(continues)

Jarahawk said:So your're considering staying, eh? I know how it is. After all...I'M still here. It's complicated. You know? I have a hate/hate relationship with Verizon. I hate their prices and I hate their smug 'we've got the best network so where else can you go attitude'. But...it's a legitimate question. It's sort of like being in a marriage where the other person is so sure that you would never leave them because of all the things they do for you that they take you for granted. Until...one day you get fed up and leave. I'm not to that point yet. I suppose as long as my plan to keep my three Unlimited Data plans works (It will) then I am here for a while. I suspect that you're going to stay, too. It's no

Well talk to them. Find out if one of them is in love with the phone they have and will allow you to use their upgrade. If they are fine with this. All you have to do is upgrade online (don't do this in the stores) Order the phone. When it arrives...call the activation number (DON'T activate from the phone. It will lock the sim to that person's number). Accept the contract terms but choose 2 for activate later. Then log into YOUR My Verizon and perform a device change. You're good. If you need any clarification on how to do this just reply.

Like you, I believe the model is broken, but seriously for the past twelve years or so Verizon has pandered to customers and now suddenly they are changing the entire culture. Try not to get too frustrated with customers who are used to things being one way and are not taking kindly to this sudden change.

Simple. DO THE MATH! If Share Everything means your bill goes up then divide the phone discount by the difference in monthly rate and figure out how many months it takes to break even. Also, check your bill and figure out if you're actually getting your money's worth out of unlimited data (Lots of folks refuse to give up UD but in the end barely top a GB or so...). Geez, it's a business deal. You want the hot phone? This is the price. If you don't like those terms then find a better deal. Also, not Verizon nor any other carrier cares about the years you've stayed. The years are about what you've already done...they're only interested in what you do today.

LTE plus Shared data equals MORE money in Verizon's pockets. In other words, it's NOT about how much data people used in the past. It's about how much data they WILL use in the future. A lot more than 1GB. Verizon and it's investors are banking on it.

Jarahawk said:LTE plus Shared data equals MORE money in Verizon's pockets. In other words, it's NOT about how much data people used in the past. It's about how much data they WILL use in the future. A lot more than 1GB. Verizon and it's investors are banking on it.

And that's why VZW customers like myself will end up leaving because the plans are expensive and with the Shared Everything plan, my bill increase more. Also it will give Sprint and TMobile more customers because they're not changing their umlimited data plans.

Sprint and T-Mobile have crappy networks, thats why most of the customers have AT&T and Verizon to begin with. What good is unlimited if it sucks? Also, Sprint and T-Mobile will probably get rid of their unlimited too in the future so then you will be right back to where you started.

nodeposit said:Sprint and T-Mobile have crappy networks, thats why most of the customers have AT&T and Verizon to begin with. What good is unlimited if it sucks? Also, Sprint and T-Mobile will probably get rid of their unlimited too in the future so then you will be right back to where you started.

Sprint made a statement that they will never get rid of the unlimited data plan, while TMo announced they will have unlimited 4G unlimited data plan. Sprint just started their 4G network this year, so they have a good ways to go.

nodeposit said:and Verizon said customers who had unlimited would be grandfathered in......how'd that work out? Either way their networks suck.

When Verizon Wireless got rid of the Unlimited Data Plan a year ago, it was grandfathered in. Now with the Share Everything Plan, the Unlimited Data Plan is no longer grandfathered when I upgrade my phone. Once I upgrade I will lose the unlimited data, but If I purchase a new phone, full price, with no contract, I will be able to keep the unlimited data.